Transcription
I used to think that the videos that really worked had to be more complex, more ideas, more impressive shots, and more fancy editing. But after years as a filmmaker and now doing YouTube, I noticed the same thing happening again and again. The videos that people connected with the most were not the most complex ones. They were the ones where you could really feel what the video was about. And once I understood that, it completely changed how I create my videos.
So in this video, I want to show you a different way of approaching storytelling. And it works much better. One that changes how you plan a story, how you pick your shots, and how you shape the edit so that your videos won't just show something, but actually make people feel something.
To explain why this works, I want to talk about storytelling from a few different angles: from the story itself, filming, and editing, because these things really don't work in isolation. Think about it like cooking. You can use really good ingredients, but if one of them is missing or if one of them overpowers everything else, the whole thing just doesn't taste right. And the same goes for filmmaking. You can have a great story, but if the way it's filmed or edited doesn't really support it, something will feel off. And in the same way, you can have beautiful shots or great editing, but without a clear story underneath it, it's really hard for people to connect.
So, in this video, I'm going to break this down using one of my recent story-driven videos from YouTube. And I'm going to walk through those ingredients one by one, starting with the story itself. And don't worry if you haven't seen that video. It's really not a problem. You can watch it later, or you don't really have to.
So before we get into filming or editing, everything really starts with story, and more specifically with how you open that story. There's a lot of advice on YouTube about who's, you know, what to say, or how many seconds you have before people click away and share. A lot of that can be true, but I think most of it focuses on the surface and not what's actually happening underneath.
Because if you zoom out a bit, you will notice that every film, every documentary, and probably every series you've ever watched does something very similar in the beginning. It opens with something, and then it leaves it open for a while. Now, let me show you what I mean, uh, by the opening scene of my own latest video. Just watch it, and I'll explain it in a second.
"Exactly one year ago, I had 381 subscribers and a dream to become a YouTuber. Today, I lived that dream with about 80,000 subscribers and making a living from YouTube. Still, this is a story about why not to follow your dreams. And if you're wondering what I'm running from, you're right to ask, but we'll get back to that. First, let me take you to where this story actually starts."
So, when my video starts, I'm already running. And at that moment, I'm not telling you why I'm running yet, or where I'm going, or what happened before that. All I'm really doing is creating a small moment of uncertainty, and just enough for you to wonder what the hell is going on. Why, or what am I running from? And that question is already doing a lot more work than explanation could.
Just a bit later, I'm adding another layer because I'm saying that everything worked out and I'm living this dream. But in the same breath, I'm telling you that this is a story about why not to follow your dream. "Today, I live that dream with about 80,000 subscribers and making a living from YouTube. Still, this is a story about why not to follow your dreams."
That contradiction, uh, there, that is tension. And this tension is really important because that is what moves a story forward and what people will want to get to know. And then there's this other moment where I acknowledge the question that's probably already forming in your head. "And if you're wondering what I'm running from, you're right to ask, but we'll get back to that first."
So, in this video, that's a very small sentence, but it's also a very important one because now there is an understanding between you and the video. Because this moment matters, and it will come back, just not yet.
So, yeah, when I'm thinking about a strong opening or hook, or however you want to call it, I don't really think about some crazy formula, but I really think about questions. Um, what, what kind of questions I am intentionally not answering yet, and what am I promising to come back to later, whether that's value or whether that's a storyline. So, yeah, if you're struggling with your intros, I think this is a really good place to look.
This is where I see a lot of videos stop being interesting. Not because the idea wasn't good, but because there are simply too many ideas pulling in different directions. So when I look back at this video, what surprises me now is how simple it actually is. You know, there is just one real emotional question underneath the whole thing. And that is, if I'm living my dream, why does it feel heavier than expected? And that question doesn't get answered in one moment, but it gets explored with discovery throughout the whole video. Every scene is just another angle and that same tension. You know, the excitement in the beginning, the rush when things start working, the doubt that creeps in later, and the moment where I realize I'm not really chasing something, but I'm running away. It's different moments with completely different emotions, but the same question keeps coming back all the time.
So, when I'm working on a script and it starts to feel like a big mess, that's usually a sign that I've drifted away from that one question. So when that happens, I try to step back a bit and ask something much simpler: What is this really about emotionally? Because once that is clear again, a lot of distraction falls away by itself, you know? So, yeah, a good story doesn't need to say everything. You just really have to know what it's really about. It doesn't only make the story better, but also it makes it much simpler for yourself when editing and when filming.
When we think about stories, it's very easy to focus on events, you know, on the things that are happening and all of the action. And of course, action is nice to watch. But if you look closely at almost any story that really sticks with you, the action is usually not the point. It's really what's happening underneath it. And when I look at my own video externally, there doesn't happen that much because, you know, I'm not saving the world. I'm mostly sitting behind my computer or editing or filming, just doing YouTube. And if you would write down those events, it wouldn't be the most exciting list for an action movie. But internally, it was a completely different story. There was a lot of excitement in the beginning, but also doubt and pressure, and there was fear, and all those realizations. And that internal movement, that is actually where the story lives. And that is why storytelling doesn't require big moments or dramatic events. You know, a story can perfectly be around a very small shift or a change in perspective, or just a realization you didn't have before. Because what people connect with isn't really what happened, but what changed and what transformed.
So, when you're thinking about your own videos, it can really help to ask a different question. So, not what does happen in this video, but more: What changes because of it? Because once you know that, the story usually becomes a lot clearer. And when the story is clear in that way, the next steps become much more intuitive because you're not longer filming or editing just to make something look good, but you're doing it to support that story.
So before we move on to talk about filming, I want to quickly mention something. Because if you're watching this and you're thinking, "Okay, I understand this idea of simple stories, but I still don't really know how to start, or I keep getting stuck." That's exactly why I made the Story Starter Kit. It's a very simple step-by-step way to learn basic storytelling by actually doing it. So, you're not just watching videos, but you're guided through making a short video from start to finish so you actually understand what makes it work. So, I'm putting the link in the description if you want to take a look at that.
But now, let's talk about filming. So, when we think about filming a story, it's very easy to focus on events or on what happened. And of course, that's important. But when a story is driven by something internal, that way of thinking only gets you so far. So when I'm thinking about shots, I'm also thinking about how it felt. For example, when things were going well in this story, I didn't want to explain that with words only. I really wanted to show that feeling of freedom, and I really wanted the audience to feel the momentum, you know. Let me just say it felt freaking fantastic. I was waking up with energy, filming, editing like crazy, and dreaming up new ideas. The freedom, the flow, the feeling that I was finally living my dream.
And that is where the skateboard scene comes in. Because nothing really important is happening here. I'm just trying to bring over how that period felt for me emotionally. I even had the shot of me floating over the concrete. You know, I was actually lying on a skateboard and a friend helped me out. It was pretty awkward to create, but it was totally worth the shot because that's how it felt. You know, I was just flying, flying through life. So, it's really about translating a feeling into something visual.
And the same thing happens later in the video as well, but in a different way. When I'm running, I'm not showing something that actually happened. You know, I wasn't literally being chased by someone in the woods, of course, but internally, that's exactly what it felt like, trying to stay ahead of something that I didn't want to face yet. So, both of these scenes are doing the same thing. They are externalizing an internal state. And once you start thinking this way, filming becomes much less about getting things exactly right, and much more about honesty. You know, what kind of feelings you want to carry over to the viewer. And it's much more fun to do it like that as well. So the question I keep coming back to is very simple: What did this moment feel like? And how can I show that, just in a way that feels true to me? That is most important because you will be surprised how it will connect with other people.
Many people treat camera movement as something neutral or something technical. But what's much more important is what movement is actually doing emotionally. Because just like with story, movement isn't so interesting on its own, but it really starts to matter when it supports what's happening underneath it. So, right after the opening, when the story really starts in this video, there's a really long one-taker. The camera moves really smoothly, following me, so the movement stays calm, giving the viewer time to settle in the story. And that shot actually took really a lot of time to get right. Um, but what mattered more than how difficult it was to record is how it felt to watch. Because as a viewer, it should feel controlled and smooth, because that's how I felt at that moment, and I wanted the audience to feel like that.
Later in the video, the feeling shifts completely. When I'm running away, the movement shifts with it. You know, the camera becomes more chaotic, and the shots are becoming less predictable, because also internally, things are not really stable anymore. And if you look at your own videos this way, camera movement really starts to feel less like a stylistic decision and more like an emotional one. You know, fast, unstable movement when things feel overwhelming, and slow, steady movement when things feel calm or introspective. And you don't have to apply this to every shot or every scene, but even being aware of it and using it intentionally every now and then can already make a really, really big difference.
But even though movement can say a lot about how something feels, sometimes the image itself already carries that feeling. When you put time and care into a scene, it's really tempting to immediately tell people and explain what it means exactly. But I've learned that some moments become stronger when they're allowed to just exist on their own first, before they're given words, or even without explaining them. So, let me give you an example. There is this scene in my video where I'm sitting on a bench with an ice cream. And on the surface, it's really simple. I'm just sitting there. For me, that moment represents something very specific. It's that feeling of not really being present in your own life, and being so caught up in your own thoughts that you forget to enjoy what's right in front of you. And the ice cream is there right in my hand, but I'm, I'm not really tasting it. It's just melting right in front of me.
"Even when you love what you do, it can still start to feel heavy. There were days I felt like I was moving backwards, like everyone."
The important thing is that this scene doesn't need explanation in order to work. Some people might read it very differently. Some people might just find it a little bit funny. And that's okay, because the feeling still comes through, even if the meaning stays slightly open. You don't have to explain everything. And if you think about your own videos in this way, you don't always have to choose between explaining everything or saying nothing at all. Sometimes it's just about recording an image, making that land first, and then, if it helps later, you can always add your perspective in the edit with a voiceover if you want to.
And once you start working this way, you're still going to have to shape the edit in a way so those moments are actually felt by the audience. And that's where editing comes in. When people think about editing, they often think about efficiency or about keeping attention. But editing is much less about speed and much more about pacing, about how fast or how slow a moment feels, and the contrast between that. Because just like with filming, the edit doesn't exist on its own. It's always responding to something emotional underneath it.
When things are going well in the story, the pacing naturally starts to build, and you will notice that shots are coming in quicker, and a lot of different things are happening over time. There's a lot of movement, there's a lot of energy, because that's what the enthusiasm felt like. So, the edit follows that feeling. And the same thing can happen with negative tension as well. Later in the video, when things turn more reflective, the pacing slows down a bit, shots start lasting longer, and there is more space between moments. The edit creates much more room for the thoughts and the insights that I'm talking about to land. But I guess that this is the beauty of it all. The impatience that pushes you too fast is trying to teach you patience.
So again, instead of asking "how fast should this be?", I'm usually asking something like, "What does this part of the story need to feel like? And what kind of pacing will support that feeling?" So even if the pacing feels right in your overall video, another thing is really important as well, and that is how you move from one moment to the next. Because transitions aren't just technical. They are really connections between scenes. So they are emotional shifts. Often we treat transitions as something we need to explain or we need, need to announce them, like we're going into a new chapter. And this works sometimes as well, you know, telling the viewer where we're going next. But I found that a transition can do much more when it's felt instead of explained.
Let's go back to the moment in the video where everything feels light and free. I'm skating, and the energy is high. All sorts of things are happening, and then suddenly I arrive at the staircase. "But the thing about fulfillment is, it doesn't last." Now, that moment is important because emotionally, it mirrors what's happening underneath. Things are going really well, and then out of nowhere, the fun is over, and there's a new obstacle in the way, the stairs, which also, uh, the image is trying to show you at the same time. In the edit, that transition is driven almost entirely also by sound. Uh, also because I'm stopping in the shot, but also because the music cuts off abruptly. You know, it's, it's a turntable effect losing its power, and there's no explanation needed. We're just really landing in that new moment.
"But the thing about fulfillment is, it doesn't last."
So that hard landing really matters because it creates the same feeling the story is dealing with at that point. That sense of momentum that's suddenly stopping. Now, there is still this really important thing we have to talk about in the edit because it's what's holding everything kind of together, and that is music.
Before I move to this last point, I want to mention that if this way of thinking about storytelling and filming and editing resonates with you, I'm working on something more in-depth around this. It will be the full process that I use to create videos that flow. So, if you want to get notified when that's ready, you can find the link in the description to sign up for that.
Now, let's talk about music. Music is really not something you should look for at the end, I think, because it really plays a big role in your video, and it can even help with shaping the edit. You know, for this video, I picked most of the music before I even began filming. That's something I do quite a lot because the script was already written, and I knew where the energy had to be high, and where things had to slow down, and where the story needed space to breathe. So instead of searching for music to fit the edit, I also let music help me to create the edit, actually. Because once I feel that music, uh, really matches the different parts of the script, a lot of decisions become easier. It gives me ideas for movement and for rhythm, and sometimes even for how long a moment should last.
Also, in this video, I used different music for different parts of the story. There is music that carries excitement and feels like momentum, music that creates tension and pressure and maybe feels a little bit heavy, and music that makes everything feel a little bit more reflective. So, each music track is an emotional layer that plays a really big role on how people feel while watching. And because I find this so important, a lot of the time I will edit the music itself as well. You know, I will stretch sections, or I will make a climax appear quicker or later, just so it fits my script. But I also take the music to let me, uh, be inspired. So it takes time to do it like this, but it really helps the whole video feel like one continuous experience.
And when story, filming, and editing all work together like this intentionally, simple stories can be really, really powerful. So, we want to know what the story is really about, the shots and images to support that feeling, and the edit to give it the right rhythm. None of these things are very complicated on their own, but when they're aligned, people don't just understand the story, but they will feel it.
And if you are now wondering what kind of cuts you need to actually make the difference in your edit, you can watch this video next because it goes much deeper into that and it might help you to see editing in a completely different way. Good luck and see you in the next. Cheers.